University System News:
www.daltondailycitizen.com
Venable named president of Dalton State College
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/news/venable-named-president-of-dalton-state-college/article_3fa80f1c-5be1-11e5-a4ff-a39ffa8aca87.html
Submitted by Dalton State College
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia today named Margaret Venable president of Dalton State College. The board’s decision followed a recommendation by Chancellor Hank Huckaby and ends the interim status Venable has held at Dalton State since January. “Dr. Venable’s skills and experience with the University System are a tremendous asset and she has demonstrated a great capacity for leadership,” said Huckaby. “Her work as interim president has been impressive and we are excited about the future of Dalton State and our partnership with the Dalton community under Dr. Venable’s leadership as president.”

www.statesboroherald.com
Keel now president of Augusta University
Georgia Regents University has new name
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/70082/
From staff reports
Less than two months after becoming president of Georgia Regents University, Dr. Brooks Keel is president of a university with a new name, Augusta University. The Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday approved the name change for the institution that had been GRU for just three years. “The new name Augusta University builds on the momentum we have with President Brooks Keel’s leadership,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said in a press release. “We are committed to the long-term success of this institution and appreciate the support of the Augusta community.”

www.chronicle.augusta.com
Our pride now has a name
As Augusta University, school can win the heart and soul of a supportive, grateful community
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/editorials/2015-09-15/our-pride-now-has-name
By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
It’s not just a new name. It’s a new day. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ stunning and blessed decision Tuesday to rename Georgia Regents University “Augusta University” removes a dark cloud that had been hanging over this institution and this city since 2012. With one courageous act, the Board of Regents and new university President Dr. Brooks Keel have changed the climate in Augusta. This community was always going to support the combined former Augusta State University and Medical College of Georgia. But now we can do so heart and soul. Yes, it means that much.

www.nbc26.tv
Students react to new Augusta University name
http://nbc26.tv/2015/09/15/students-react-to-new-augusta-university-name/
By Kasey Greenhalgh
AUGUSTA, Ga. – GRU is bringing back the “A” by officially changing its name to Augusta University. Today’s decision by the Board of Regents is effective immediately. When it was announced in the summer of 2012 that the new consolidated school would be named Georgia Regents University. It received so much backlash that it spurred a grassroots effort called “Save the A”. Students, alumni and community members were encouraged to contact lawmakers, the board of Regents and the Governor in support of keeping the name “Augusta” in the school’s name. Flash forward to today, and those grassroots efforts, finally paid off. …“Now I heard about the different money costs it’s going to cost us which probably means they’re rising tuition. It’s not even worth it because nobody wanted the original name and now we’re going back to the choice that we paid a lot of money for the survey so I don’t understand what’s going on,” Johnson said. Some say it’s a fresh start only weeks into the school year with a new President, Brooks Keels, and a new name.

www.onlineathens.com
Regents consider indoor UGA athletic facility, O’Malley’s purchase
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2015-09-15/regents-consider-indoor-uga-athletic-facility-omalleys-purchase
By MORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA | A $30 million indoor practice facility for the University of Georgia’s football, track and baseball teams made its first appearance before the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents Tuesday. The board votes next month on whether to approve its construction, which would be paid for with donations and cash held by the UGA Athletic Association. Spanning 140 yards by 80 yards, the facility will have a curved roof intended to complement the nearby Stegeman Coliseum. Plans for the facility have been public for more than a year, but Tuesday was the first official briefing for the regents.

USG Institutions:
www.coosavalleynews.com
GHC to hold Inauguration of President this Week
http://www.coosavalleynews.com/np113113.htm
CVN News
Georgia Highlands College is holding an Inauguration Installation Ceremony for its fourth president Donald J. Green, Ed.D., Friday (September 18) at 10AM on the Floyd campus located at 3175 Cedartown Highway. Chancellor of the University System of Georgia Hank Huckaby is installing President Green as the fourth president of Georgia Highlands College during the investiture portion of the ceremony. President Green will have been at the college for a full year, having started on September 8, 2014. Retired Regent Willis Potts is presiding over the ceremony, and Regent Neil Pruitt is bringing greetings from the Board of Regents.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Georgia Gwinnett College to celebrate 10th anniversary
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/sep/16/georgia-gwinnett-college-to-celebrate-10th/
By Keith Farner
A celebration 10 years in the making is set for Thursday at Georgia Gwinnett College. The campus, adorned with logos and hashtags of “GGC 10” for several months, will have a series of events to mark the milestone of the anniversary of the school’s founding throughout the day. …Several of the dignitaries will likely make reference to what then-Gov. Sonny Perdue called a “model for our university system” in 2006 for the school which is the ninth-largest and fastest-growing institution in the state. The school opened with 107 students as the state university system’s first new four-year college in 100 years.

www.ajc.com
Clayton State to debut new science building Thursday
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/clayton-state-to-debut-new-science-building-thursd/nngSZ/
Tammy Joyner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clayton State University will unveil its long-awaited $25 million science building at a 10 a.m. ceremony on the campus Thursday. The three-story, 58,610 square foot facility features stacked biology and chemistry suites, which blend research, prep and teaching labs. Its classroom inventory includes two 64-seat classrooms and three 36-seat classrooms. The facility also houses eight teaching laboratories, eight research laboratories, prep rooms, seminar space and faculty offices. In addition to benefiting Clayton State’s 7,000 students, it is expected to meet a critical need in the southside’s efforts to attract more graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics – or STEM – skills, university officials say.

www.live5news.com
ASU students struggle with missing aid money
http://www.live5news.com/story/30047384/asu-students-struggle-with-missing-aid-money
By Aaryn Valenzuela
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Some Albany State Students are starting off the fall semester a little rough, with problems getting their financial aid. The office is under investigation now. Even though school has been in session for about a month at Albany State University, some students are still without their financial aid. One student who says she’s made at least ten trips to the financial aid office this semester. “Some people have even been threatened to get kicked out of housing, so it has been pretty rough,” says Sophomore Janeyah Berry. “It’s still saying I have a balance, they keep dropping people’s classes, keep making us wait. It’s a lot going on.” And this doesn’t just affect getting their classes paid for.

www.wgxa.tv
MGSU campus police body cams help some students feel safer
http://www.wgxa.tv/news/social/MGSU-campus-police-body-cams-help-some-students-feel-safer-327975421.html
By Eric Mock
Georgia Southern University has recently joined the ranks of colleges and universities that require their campus police to wear body cameras. All 35 officers on all five campuses of Middle Georgia State University have been required to wear body cameras whenever they’re on duty for years, and some MGSU students say it makes them feel a lot safer, especially with the recent deadly officer-involved shootings across the country. MGSU student Shadasia Lewis said she is glad all MGSU campus police officers wear a body camera. …MGSU Chief of Police Shawn Douglas said their officers have worn body cameras since 2013. He said since they’ve started using the body cameras, police use of force has gone down on their campuses.

Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Going Back to School
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/17/study-finds-first-time-enrollment-graduate-school-35-percent?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a9bc92c37b-DNU20150917&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a9bc92c37b-197515277
By Colleen Flaherty
First-time graduate school enrollment was up 3.5 percent in 2014 from the year before, the biggest annual increase since 2009, according to a report out today from the Council of Graduate Schools. “I was surprised that that number was as big as it was,” said Jeff Allum, assistant vice president for research and policy analysis for the council and co-author of its “Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2004 to 2014” study. “We’ve had several years of very small increases or decreases in enrollment, so 3.5 percent is a very good number for this particular survey.” Allum said the increase is a combination of “very robust” growth among international students — up 11.2 percent year over year — as well as a significant, 1.3 percent jump in enrollment among U.S. citizens.

www.usatoday.com
Students fret over college costs more than parents
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/09/12/credit-dotcom-students-parents-college-costs/71926478/
Christine DiGangi
Part of the problem with Americans’ insane amount of student loan debt is how many young adults get these loans without really grasping how much they will cost. More often than not, college-bound borrowers don’t have experience budgeting all the expenses that come after college, so it’s understandably difficult to comprehend how a $30,000 annual tuition bill will translate into post-graduate finances. Parents, who have that budgeting experience, would seem to have a better understanding of what all the numbers mean. Despite that knowledge, parents were much less likely to eliminate a school from their kids’ lists of potential colleges because of cost than the students were, according to an annual survey from Sallie Mae.

www.insidehighered.com
New Data on Value of College Degrees, Majors
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/09/17/new-data-value-college-degrees-majors?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a9bc92c37b-DNU20150917&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a9bc92c37b-197515277
A new study confirms previous research finding strong long-term economic payoff to earning a college degree, and a larger payoff for majoring in a science-, mathematics- or engineering-related field. The study found that men who major in a STEM field and earn a bachelor’s degree on average earned $700,000 to $800,000 higher lifetime earnings from ages 20 to 59 than did social science or liberal arts majors.

www.insidehighered.com
Dating the Dean
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/16/when-it-comes-dating-other-faculty-members-or-supervisors-proceed-caution
By Colleen Flaherty
With the changing scope of federal regulations and increased scrutiny regarding sexual assault and harassment on college campuses, more and more institutions are strongly discouraging and even banning consensual romantic relationships between students and faculty members. But what about faculty-faculty relationships, or faculty-administrator relationships? An ongoing legal case resulting in a dean’s resignation from Stanford University raises questions about what policies or best practices govern employee romance. Experts say that while these relationships tend to be too specific and fluid to fall under any general policy, involved parties should proceed with caution and avoid pairings that may be or even appear to be exploitative or allow for favoritism.

www.chronicle.com
When a Degree Is Just the Beginning
Today’s employers want more, say providers of alternative credentials
http://chronicle.com/article/When-a-Degree-Is-Just-the/232969/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Goldie Blumenstyk
The idea of students graduating from college with just a diploma — a single academic credential — could soon seem downright quaint. At some institutions, it already is. Community colleges in North Carolina encourage students to complete coursework while earning certifications from industry groups like the National Institute for Metalworking Skills and the National Aviation Consortium. At Lipscomb University, students can qualify for badges, endorsed by outside experts, to prove they have mastered skills such as “Active Listening” and “Drive and Energy.” Students at Elon University get an “extended transcript” describing their nonacademic accomplishments. Higher education is entering a new era, one in which some industry and nonacademic certifications are more valuable than degrees, transcripts are becoming credentials in their own right, and colleges are using badges to offer assurances to employers about students’ abilities in ways that a degree no longer seems to do.

www.chronicle.com
Stack Those Credentials
Short-term, work-related certificates are soaring in popularity as students use them to land jobs or, eventually, earn degrees
http://chronicle.com/article/Stack-Those-Credentials/232985/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Katherine Mangan
Six years and several fast-food jobs after graduating from high school, Erin B. Chavez was a single mom seeking a better life for herself and her daughter. She liked taking care of people and thought she’d make a good nurse, but a four-year degree was both academically and financially daunting. So Ms. Chavez did what a growing number of people are doing: She broke a degree into small steps that provided momentum along the way. The first step was a certificate in basic health-care foundations, which she earned last summer at Ashland Community and Technical College, in Kentucky. That led to the associate degree she’s working on, which she hopes to build on further with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. So-called stackable credentials are gaining popularity around the country as a way to ease people back into college while providing on- and off-ramps for students who may need to stop to care for family members or to earn money.

www.chronicle.com
The Winners and Losers of Innovation
http://chronicle.com/article/The-WinnersLosers-of/232983/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Carol Geary Schneider
With telling clarity about the tiered assumptions that shape American education at all levels — a century ago and today — Woodrow Wilson famously offered the following to a 1909 meeting of educators: “We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class of necessity, in every society, to forgo the privileges of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks.” …Today, as we plunge forward in this new era of innovation and digital possibility, we need to ask who is going to benefit, and who will be left behind, in this exuberantly heralded season of “disruptive” change, “do it yourself” competency learning, unbundled credentials, and profit-seeking “alternative providers.”

www.chronicle.com
Why Colleges Should Support Alternative Credentials
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Colleges-Should-Support/232965/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Bernard Bull
Years ago, when I was teaching high school, one of my students loved all things related to computers and networking. By the time he was a junior, he was managing the school’s computer network. Outside school as well, he immersed himself in the world of computing. He enrolled at the local community college, earned Cisco certification (one of many valued credentials in information technology), and had a growing reputation for his expertise. At 19 he was hired as a network administrator for the city’s public-school system and was instrumental in helping to build one of the first wireless wide-area networks for schools in that region. When I asked him whether he intended to continue with college, he said he could not afford to interrupt his career. He worried that by the time he graduated, he would have fallen too far behind in the rapidly changing industry. …His experience points to a reality that people inside and outside higher education are only slowly realizing: There are diverse pathways to success, and more ways to demonstrate competency than by earning a college degree.